Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick vowed Wednesday that he would ensure the department counts all people under the U.S. Census, despite previous efforts by Donald Trump to exclude undocumented immigrants.
“I promise you, we will count each whole person,” Lutnick said at his confirmation hearing Wednesday in response to a question from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “That’s what the Constitution says, and we will stick right to it.”
In his first term, Trump moved to exclude undocumented people from apportionment, which dictates which states receive more or less seats in the House of Representatives. President Joe Biden quickly rescinded that order upon taking office. At the outset of his second term, Trump revoked Biden’s move to rescind his policy upon taking office earlier this month.
In his first term, Trump also issued an order demanding that agencies produce records to determine the number of non-citizens and attempted to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, which some had argued would discourage participation.
Changes to the census could have major implications over which party has a bigger advantage in winning control of the House.
